Greererpeton

Greererpeton Temporal range: Viséan 345.3–328.3 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N

Fossil
Conservation status
Fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia sensu lato
Order:	Ichthyostegalia
Family:	Colosteidae
Genus:	Greererpeton Romer, 1969
Species:	G. burkemorani

Greererpeton burckemorani ("amphibian from Greer") is an extinct genus of tetrapods from the Early Carboniferous period (late Viséan) of North America.

The greererpeton lived in the paleozoic era. it was a tetrapod, any creature with four limbs, and was aquatic.Greererpeton had an elongated body adapted for swimming, reaching up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in length, including the tail. It was carnivorous, and probably ate mostly fish. Its body had 40 vertebrae, twice the usual amount, and a flattened skull about 18 centimetres (7.1 in) long. The limbs were short, and mainly used for steering, with the long tail providing the main propulsive force while swimming.

Restoration

Some marks on the side of the skull indicate that Greererpeton had a lateral line, a sensory organ commonly found only in fish. Its ears were also poorly developed. Taken together, these are indications that Greererpeton was a primitive amphibian that had an almost wholly aquatic existence, rarely, if ever, venturing onto dry land.^[1]

Greererpeton was a carnivore and probably lived in rivers and swamps.^[2]

Footnotes

↑ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 51. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
↑ M. Alan Kazlev (1998) The Carboniferous Period of the Paleozoic Era: 299 to 359 million years ago, Palaeos.org, Retrieved on 2008-06-23

External links

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